Next week will mark six months since the crash of Air India Flight 171 in the Indian city of Ahmedabad. Despite the high-profile nature of the tragedy, and the extensive scrutiny that Air India and Boeing have been subjected to, the complicated manner of such incidents means that the investigation into the crash is still ongoing. However, this has reportedly been complicated by mutual suspicion between those involved.
With the crash having occurred on Indian soil and involving an Indian airline, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is naturally a key player in this procedure. However, with the aircraft involved, a 
Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, being a US-built model, American authorities have also been working to determine the exact causes of the crash. Now, reports have emerged that AAIB and NTSB officials have clashed during the inquiry.
Mutual Suspicion Has Existed From The Start Of The Investigation
As first reported by the Wall Street Journal last week, the divided nature of the supposedly joint investigation between Indian and US authorities is not a new phenomenon, but, rather, something that was present from the very outset of the inquiry. For instance, the publication reports that NTSB black box specialists were told not to go with their Indian colleagues when they arrived in the country at the end of June to examine the flight data recorders.
In the end, on US orders, the NTSB specialists were intercepted upon their arrival in India and stayed in New Delhi, rather than accompanying their Indian counterparts to analyze the recorders in a remote location as planned. Under pressure from US authorities, Indian investigators eventually agreed to download the data in New Delhi instead, with Shri GVG Yugandhar from the AAIB reassuring his American colleagues of India’s know-how:
“We’re not a Third World country. We can do anything you all can do. We have the same capabilities.”
Fears Of A Cover-Up Have Emerged
Since then, there has been little to ease the mutual suspicion between the US and Indian parties involved in the investigation. While a preliminary report into the crash of Air India flight AI171 revealed that the 787’s engines had lost power after takeoff due to their fuel supply being cut off, the reason for this switch is yet to have been established or, at least, declared. This, The Telegraph reports, has fueled US suspicions of a cover-up.
According to the publication, WSJ reporting suggests that American investigators are of the opinion that the activation of the fuel cutoff switch was an intentional act by the Captain of the aircraft in an attempt to deliberately crash the plane. There is also reportedly evidence to suggest that no attempt was made by the Captain to rectify the situation by pointing the nose of the aircraft upwards, adding further weight to this theory of sabotage.
However, US investigators, who One Mile At A Time notes were not permitted to photograph the wreckage, are wary of an attempted cover-up by India, whose authorities may instead point to supposed mechanical faults to absolve the Captain of potential blame. Meanwhile, Indian commentators have accused the US of ignoring American planes’ flaws. In any case, this backdrop of mutual suspicion will do little to help the ongoing investigation.
Aviation Minister Denies Manipulation In Air India Investigation Following Complaint
India’s Civil Aviation Minister has reportedly denied any manipulation in the investigation of the Air India Boeing 787-8 crash.
The Crash In A Nutshell
Air India flight AI171 was a scheduled commercial passenger flight that began at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (AMD) in Ahmedabad. It took off for 
London Gatwick Airport (LGW) operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that bore the registration VT-ANB on the afternoon of June 12, 2025, but lost altitude almost immediately and crashed into an accommodation building at a medical college just a mile from the runway.
The deadly disaster, which was the first hull loss and fatal accident involving the Boeing 787 family, resulted in the deaths of all 12 of its crew members and 229 of its 230 passengers, with just one guest making it out alive. There were also 19 fatalities on the ground, with a further 67 injuries reported among those caught up in the crash who weren’t on board the jet itself. The crash is the deadliest of the 2020s, and the investigation continues.
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